Virat Kohli with Rajat Patidar after the IPL 2022 Eliminator.© BCCI/IPL
The Royal Challengers Bangalore found an unlikely hero in their 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) Eliminator match against Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday. At first batters, RCB’s best hitters such as Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell didn’t get going, but the unannounced Rajat Patidar, who was only playing his seventh game of the season, scored 112* and his side reached a massive 207/4 in 20 surpluses. The Du Plessis-led team went on to win by 14 runs to secure a place in the Qualifier 2 against Rajasthan Royals.
Patidar’s performance was praised by former Indian cricket team coach Ravi Shastri. “If you have a special innings from the youngster, Rajat Patidar, a substitute player who strikes as if he has played the IPL for the past decade. Stunning shots, brave, unaffected by the opportunity, not overwhelmed by the opponents or bowling attack. He was fantastic said Shastri on Star Sports.
“He set the game up for RCB. From Lucknow’s point of view, they didn’t help themselves by dropping those catches, but that’s an essential part of the game. Patidar will say, ‘I’ll take that. So good, I deserve that bit of luck.’ And he was just brilliant.”
Patidar looked effortless with his slices, punches, counter-punches and urges to tower above the rest. And to make the story of Patidar more interesting, he was not taken out of the auction this season and joined the team after the start when a player named Luvnith Sisodia got injured. If Sisodia had been okay, RCB would not have needed the services of Patidar, who had raised 65,000 at Eden Gardens.
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